250 gold coins from 7th century unearthed in Jerusalem

Published: Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 10:50 [IST]

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Washington, Dec 24 (ANI): A team of archaeologists in Israel has claimed to have unearthed more than 250 gold coins from the seventh century (the Byzantine period) on the edge of Jerusalem's walled Old City.

According to Israel's Antiquities Authority, the Byzantine-period hoard was found in the ruins of a building where a striking 2,000-year-old gold earring from the Roman era was dug up last month.

A statement by the Antiquities Authority said that the coins had likely been hidden in a niche in one of the building's walls.

Nadine Ross, a British tourist, was the first one to discover some of the coins, when she volunteered at the dig, and found some of the Byzantine coins cached in the wall.

The site is located in a parking lot alongside the ancient city's southern wall.

The coins bear the image of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, who ruled between 610 and 641 A.D. He is depicted wearing military dress and holding a cross in his right hand.

Heraclius was the last Byzantine emperor to rule over Jerusalem, which fell to Muslim Arab armies in 637. (ANI)